Negative Charge - Washington City Paper

Negative Charge

by Gregory Myles December 15th, 1995August 29th, 2020

THE ARTICLE “THE JUICE

is Loose” by Erik Wemple (The District Line, 11/17) reminded me of a similar ruse that friends of mine used to practice at their “party house” back in the early ’70s.

During the weekends, when electrical usage was at its highest, they would pull the meter out and reinsert it upside down, so that the dials spun backwards. All they had to do was remember to reinstall the meter, with the seal more or less intact, prior to the next reading.

I do recall, however, that they were finally busted when a reading of one particular month’s totals turned out to be inexplicably lower than the prior month’s reading.

Annapolis, Md.

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